Tonight I'm back home in my own house...
...pulling together my Utah pictures for a "big post".
And, while going through the random snap shots of adventures and together times I can't help but tear up.
In 3 weeks my sisters will scatter.
I know I don't' live by them now, but they are literally pulling up roots, waving goodbye and heading to new places all over the globe.
I have never lived further then a state away from my sisters
(we aren't counting your brief stint in Indiana, Lisa...HA!)
and I can't help but feel a special ache in my heart knowing that they are not only more hours away from me....but thousands and thousands of miles.
I'm so grateful for Skype, for email, for cheap long distance phone plans....
...but really there will be NOTHING that can replace the feeling of us all being so near that an hour long flight can whisk us to wherever we are needed.
The next time I visit Utah my sister's beautiful house will be filled with a different family.
The next time I see my niece and nephews they will be so much older I won't recognize them. Sweet Kingston may not even realize who I am.
The next time I see my parents they will be true empty nesters....
...going to nightly movies, puttering around the garden, generally living it up.
But, I KNOW I will see the sadness in my mother's eyes that I see every time she drops us off at the airport after our visits.
I know she feels that achy stretch as our bonds reach out across states and time zones instead of the relaxed comfort of being in the same room.
The next time I see my little sister she will know a new language and understand a new culture in a way that only expatriates can,
She will have grown and changed, and I'm sure blossomed in exciting new ways and I will have missed watching her grow.
We will no longer share the same state, or for that matter even the same country, which we have never...in 30 years....ever done.
So tonight I am melancholy and the only spark that keeps me from crawling into bed and bawling my eyes out is the warm, comforting knowledge that no matter how many miles or time zones separate us,
no matter how long we go without hugging or laughing about something that just happened at dinner,
no matter how long we go in between impromptu cousin play sessions,
is the knowledge that THIS is my eternity...
.....we will never TRULY be separated....
and that makes everything better.
3 comments:
I've decided you are officially trying to kill me! Blarggh!
Ummm, I'm crying! I miss my sister too. We need to use each other while we are far away from our families!:)
My sweet Jenny, you are so right there will be an empty spot in all our lives but not our hearts. As much as I would like to keep all my girls and their precious families close to me and I truly believe families are meant to live close to each other, I also believe that one of our main purposes here on earth is to grow and learn from the experiences and challenges that come our way—some pleasant, some not so—but always with an attitude to make the best of them.
The next few years will be full of lots of opportunities for all of us to see what we can make out of these experiences. The good news is that we will all share in each others growth and adventures because we're glue (and you are right eternal) and that makes it okay.
Love you baby, thanks for the great blog that keeps us glued in your life and for being such a good writer so that you can express things so eloquently
love you,
xoxoxo Mom
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